Overview
- Brooklyn FC announced the signing of 24-year-old midfielder Peter Mangione to its first USL Championship squad, with roster approval pending from league and federation officials.
- Brooklyn opens its inaugural season March 8 at Maimonides Park in Coney Island against Indy Eleven.
- Mangione, a Penn State alumnus, scored 31–32 collegiate goals and twice earned Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year honors before logging 28 appearances with FC Cincinnati 2 last season.
- The signing places him a few miles from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center, where his cousin Luigi Mangione is held on state, federal and Pennsylvania charges tied to the Dec. 4, 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
- Judge Margaret Garnett has ordered an evidentiary hearing on the seizure of Luigi’s backpack and set a tentative Sept. 8 jury-selection date, as defense motions challenge the federal death-penalty pursuit and allege a conflict involving Attorney General Pam Bondi; Luigi has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court Jan. 30.